A toothbrush is described, for example, in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 2,130,661. The toothbrush is provided with an elongate handle, a neck adjoining the handle in the longitudinal direction and a head adjoining the neck opposite from the handle. The head is covered on one side with bristles. The surface of the handle has trapezoidal surface-area elements in three longitudinal portions respectively adjoining one another. The circumferentially adjacent surface-area elements of one longitudinal portion are arranged rotationally symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle and, in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle, form regular octagons. Starting from the free end of the handle and proceeding in the direction of the head, the cross section of the handle initially narrows and then widens once again up to a thumb rest, to subsequently narrow once again toward the neck.